Foundry mold flasks with novel end bumper means



El 4, 1956 .1. A. LASATER ETAL 2,772,456

FOUNDRY MOLD FLASKS WITH NOVEL END BUMPER MEANS Original Filed Aug. 25, 1951 INVENTORS John A. Losoter Thomas A. Deukins United States Patent FOUNDRY MOLD FLASKS WITH NOVEL END BUMPER MEANS John A. Lasater and Thomas A. Deakins, Chattanooga, Tenn., assignors to Combustion Engineering, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Original application August 25, 1951, Serial No. 243,688. Divided and this application March 31, 1955, Serial No. 498,336

2 Claims. (Cl. 22-96) The invention of this application relates to foundry mold flasks and the subject matter hereof has been divided from co-pending parent U. S. application Serial No. 243,688 filed August 25, 1951 in the names of John A. Lasater and Thomas A. Deakins under title of Automatic Take Off and Lowering of Assembled Molds from Assembling Mechanism to Conveying Cars.

The object of this invention is to adapt the flasks of conventional sand molds for use in the mechanized mold assembly system of the co-pending parent application identified above.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed and claimed by this divisional application is shown by the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is an exploded view showing the components of a mold that incorporates the improvements of our invention.

Figure 2 indicates how the drag, cope and core of Fig. 1 appear after having been brought together to produce an assembled mold ready for pouring.

Figure 3 is a view in top plan section of an empty drag flask showing how the novel bumpers of this invention are alfixed to the two ends thereof; and

Figure 4 is a top plan view showing four assembled molds being advanced through a curved take-01f track by the aid of said end bumpers on the drag flasks.

The earlier mentioned parent application Serial 243,688 discloses mold components such as are shown by Fig. 1, and the specification of that earlier application describes an illustrative production of castings in static molds prepared and assembled from such component parts.

The mold parts represented in Fig. 1 hereof include a lower flask half 12 referred to as the drag, an upper flask half 14 referred to as the cope, suitable sand 13 or the like packed into both the drag and the cope for receiving cavity impressions 16 from the casting pattern (not shown), and a core (sand or other) placed within the mold cavity to form a hollow interior for the casting (not shown) to be produced. In the illustration here made the aforesaid casting pattern and the cooperating core 15 are both shaped to provide for simultaneously casting two quarter bend soil pipe fittings (also not shown) in each mold 1214 when assembled as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Side support bars 28 are provided on each of the copes 14 and on each of the drags 12 (Fig. 3); and in addition each of the drags 12 is further provided with forward and rear bumpers 380 mounted on its two ends in the manner indicated.

The need for these bumpers 380 on the drag ends arises in connection with mold take off apparatus which is disclosed by parent application Serial 243,688 and one portion of which includes the curved track shown at "ice 260 in Fig. 4 hereof. In operation of said mold take off apparatus these bumpers contact one another as indicated by Fig. 4, so that withdrawal movement imparted to each assembled mold 12-44 (Fig. 2) taken out of the central assembling machine (not shown here) is transmitted in the form of pushing force to the four molds already on curved track 260 thereahead with resultant advancement of the leading mold 1214 into mold lowering mechanism (again not here shown); and guidance of these molds during such movement is imparted by track side supports 388 and 389 which extend above the level of conventional rollers (not here shown) constituting the track floor.

It will be seen that each of these end bumpers 380 is at the side of the drag closest to the inside of the curve in track 260' and protrudes outwardly from its respective end of drag flask 12 by at least the same distance as does the central fitting 25 that is attached in conventional manner to the same flask end; also that the bumper 380 so mounted at the side of central fitting 25 is curvedly tapered from maximum bumper depth adjacent the flask center to minimum bumper depth adjacent the flask side. By reason of this arrangement endwise pushing force can be transmitted between two adjoining drag flasks through their contacting bumpers 380 during travel of the flasks either along a straight path or along a curved path (typified by Fig. 4 hereof) without dependence on or interference with the flask end fittings 25.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the drag bumpers 380 of the present invention have practical utility of a high order and serve vital functions in systems of mechanized mold assembly such as have been discussed herein.

These inventive improvements are therefore extensive in their adaptation and hence are not to be restricted to the specific form herein disclosed by way of illustration.

What we claim is:

1. In a mold flask adapted for use as a drag or as a cope and comprising a frame portion made up of two side Walls interconnected by forward and rear end walls at least one of which end walls has a fitting protruding outwardly from about the center thereof, the combination of a bumper fixed to each of said end walls and protruding from the outer face thereof by at least the protrusion distance of the aforesaid fitting, each of said forward and rear end bumpers being located in sidedisplaced relation to the Walls central fitting and being curvedly tapered from maximum bumper depth adjacent the flask center to minimum bumper depth adjacent the flask side and being adapted for contact with the adjoining end bumper on another like flask when that other flask is placed in end-to-end relation with the first whereby endwise pushing force can be transmitted between the two flasks through said contacting bumpers during travel of the flasks along either a straight or a curved path without dependence on or interference with the said central fittings of the adjoining flask ends.

2. In a mold flask, a frame portion made up of two side walls interconnected by forward and rear end walls whose outer faces are flat and parallel one to the other and also perpendicular to the top and bottom planes of the flask and each of which end walls has a fitting protruding outwardly from about the center thereof, and a bumper fixed to each of said end walls at the same given side of the walls said central fitting and protruding from the outer face thereof by at least the protrusion 3 distance of the aforesaid fitting, each of said forward and rear end bumpers being tapered from maximum bumper depth adjacent the flask center to minimum bumper depth adjacent the flask side and being adapted for contact with the adjoining end bumper on another like flask when that other flask is placed in end-to-end relation with the first whereby endwise pushing force can be transmitted between the two flasks through said contacting bumpers and whereby the flasks can in this manner and without dependence on or interference with the said 10 4,

4 central fittings of the adjoining flask ends be made to travel along a path whose direction curves towards the aforesaid given side of said flasks on which the end bumpers are mounted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Shallock et a1. Dec. 8, 1942 Seubert Nov. 16, 1943 

